The style of britchen on this pair harness works very well with the neck yoke set up. The quarter straps from the britchen go under the belly to attach to the end of the martingale, just behind the girth.   From there, the martingale goes forward between the front legs to clip onto the neck yoke.  You have an almost immediate effective support without having to have the britchen snugged up so tight it inhibits stride. 

Photo by Wendi Ross, Blue Ribbon Photography

Photo by Wendi Ross, Blue Ribbon Photography
 

The driving bits I use are Glory Bits.  My first mare already had been driving in one and doing well in it, so I got her one and bought my second mare one as well.  The bit options I chose are a loose cheek liverpool.  The mouthpieces are copper with a hybrid forward curve that is  part mullen, and part arch.  This bit seems just perfect for Fjords.   They have wide mouths, thick tongues and not a lot of room for much else in there (food always fits though!).

They tell me they like these bits, as I don't have to have flash nose bands to keep their mouths tied shut on them, they listen softly and keep bit contact.  They even open their mouths to take the bits themselves when being bridled.   Fjord approved.

Note for pairs: It is often recommended to have a fixed cheek bits and bit bars to avoid any pinching or hooking of equipment.  I have not had that problem so far, however.

I've had people tell me that neck collars should not be used in marathon, but with my neck yoke set up, my mares can move and bend freely, and judging from actual sweat patterns, the neck collars cover less body area than breast collars or euro collars do.  They do not generate heat, are not restrictive, and I've had no bruising, rubbing or injury from the collars.

Fit is the most important part of neck collar usage.  I ordered 20" half sweeny buggy collars with a little wider point of draft.  I found with the Fjords, that their necks are so wide compared to their height, that I had to sit on the brand new collars endwise, and bounce a little to spread the new collars out, just to get the collar to settle down onto their shoulder at first.  I also needed wider kidney links to accommodate the neck width and allow the hames to seat into the collar's groves (hame bed)  properly.    People often talk about getting their hames bent to fit their collars, and I thought I would need this also, but when I tried a wider kidney link, I found that took care of the issue totally.   There is some adjustment play top and bottom for hames, unhook them from each other and just slip the hames up and down the collar grooves to see if a wider  (or narrower) attachment might give you a custom fit you are striving for without bending any metal.

Once I had all those pieces of the puzzle fitting smoothly together, everything else seem to flow into place.   It's a very personal choice in how you want to drive.  No regrets here, I think collars are beautiful as well as efficient for the horse.

Personal Note:  Fjords don't have much of a throatlatch, so I always unbuckle my collars when putting them on or off.  The girls don't care for the tradition of pushing the collar on upside down over their faces and twisting it around behind their head, it tends to strangle them unnecessarily.

Single trees are a must with breast collars to avoid friction burns and pain for the animal as my beginning narrative exemplifies.  Roller bolts are okay with neck collars, many information sources say; but from this picture above, you can see my girl's neck collars are still working the single trees completely.  From my own observation, it seems that even horses in neck collars would be much more comfortable using single trees too.

I think having wider kidney links that set the trace-eyes higher up on the neck collar, and my Fjords have pretty good shoulder conformation for carriage work compensates from having less than perfect draft angles.  I also had, a couple years later, some custom hames made with the trace-eyes moved up higher by about an inch and a half, that seemed to be the sweet spot we were hunting for!  All these factors, I've found, are important to take into consideration for a cohesive working whole between horse, harness and carriage.

I've also used these shoes in CDE's with excellent results in mud and wet grass.  I watched metal shod horses slipping and some near falls, but my girls didn't bobble in their funny footwear.  This particular brand is called Ground Control Horse Shoes.  They nail on just like normal metal shoes, and just trim off what you don't need with nippers.  I was grateful that my farrier was very open minded and willing to apply them.  These plastic shoes are also very quiet on the roads and it's very pleasant and peaceful trotting on. 

Some parting thoughts. . .

So if you made it this far, you are probably a driving crazy fool and just as twisted as I am.  I'm so sorry for you - but ain't it fun?   All the stuff I listed here is my opinion, it doesn't mean it's right for the next person and, after all, I'm just a learning amateur driver.   I think bottom line is that we have to consider EVERYTHING that affects our carriage driving situation, and foremost look at it from our horses perspective.   So stay safe and have fun.  Drive on!